Getting my happy on

I recently watched Shawn Achor's TED Talk on The Happy Secret To Better Work.  Fantastic information, go right now and watch it, it is worth 12 minutes of your time.  The theme of his discussion is how we, as a society, have an operating principle that if we work harder, we'll be more successful, which will lead to us being happier.  In practice, we are always moving the marker of success out, so if happiness is on the 'other side' of success?  We will never get there...   The real key is learning to be happy FIRST, as it is the driver of success.  Shawn notes in his speech that your brain operates 30% more effectively when operating in a positive state than when you are negative/neutral/or stressed.

Who WOULDN'T want to operate 30% more effectively?

Shawn lists the following 5 steps for how you can train your brain to see the world more positively.   

I am not going to outline all 5 steps (seriously... go watch this TED talk people, link is above!) but I will note that I've been working on all of them and I can see a difference already.  The "3 gratitudes a day" list is where I started.  It takes just a few minutes of your day and you do it for 21 days to form a habit.   Pick a time of the day, clear your mind and write down 3 UNIQUE things you are grateful for.  At first I thought I'd have a hard time with "unique" things, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Here is my list in reverse chronological order  :o)

I'm thankful for good book recommends from my 9 year old daughter AND for my son participating in family game night AND for goodnight hugs from 13 year old boys AND for letting me be alive today AND for new friends AND for not 1, but 2 pool parties AND for me wearing a bikini and having someone else tell me I looked great in it AND for movie night at the McGrews AND for nights on my own which help me to learn myself a little more AND for completed watercolor paintings AND for sisters that walk together and hold one another up AND for 5 mile runs in gorgeous weather AND for gorgeous weather in July in Iowa AND for little girls that sleep with their moms AND for good discussions with Isaac AND for my church home, glad I got my hungover ass out of bed to go AND for getting through the pile of paperwork that has accumulated on my desk AND for cards against humanity parties with friends AND for finished landscaping projects AND for Fridays off AND for Wally Lamb AND for BFFs, so blessed to have several of these AND for making new male friends, thank you eHarmony AND for Isaac doing his jobs today, with minimal nagging on my end and minimal complaining on his end AND for Bella and I snuggled in bed reading with our first cup of coffee AND for a house relatively picked up already in preparation of kid absence AND for getting up with the sun on Tuesdays for a good cause AND for my fingers smelling like the earth... green AND for finally starting to feel more focused at work AND for a reaffirmation in my belief that there are worthwhile guys out there AND for fabulous blue shoes to kick the blues AND for getting up early enough to finish my book before heading to work AND for only having to work 6 hours today, I love holiday weeks AND for a cuddly dog, who loves me no matter what, basking in the sunlight on my bed while I read AND for the blissfully cool weather that followed all the thunderstorms, it makes me think of the short but sweet fall weather to come AND for waking up early enough to have a cup of coffee at home while daydreaming/reading/capturing my to-do list AND for Bella’s excitement for family vacation with her dad which got her moving and out of bed with less than the usual fuss AND for the world's longest run-on sentence....  THE END ;o)